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April 13, 2003
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Higher speed Centrino chips delayed
Intel may well be having some trouble producing Pentium M processors for its Centrino platform in enough quantity and in big enough yields, it has emerged, judging from the futures it is projecting.
Although the whole thing reeks of marchitecture, reading between the lines.
Intel would not want to be caught with notebook chips enabled for 802.11a/802.11b while munchkin AMD might have Athlon64 Hammers with BRCM suppport, we'd suspect. It's not exactly a cartel, but if either really exceeds the other on price and functionality, the whole Apple Cart might fall over.
We've reported over the last few weeks that there's something of a shortage of the Pentium M processor at the heart of the Centrino triple prong, but roadmaps we saw at the Porcupine last week have reinforced that impression.
The good news - if it is good news of course, is that as we revealed here some months ago, Intel will allow hyperthreading on its clunky and hot Pentium 4M family.
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U.S. to Crack Saddam ID With DNA
DOHA, Qatar -- U.S. forces have an important tool at their disposal as they try to crack the mystery of Saddam Hussein's whereabouts: a sample of the Iraqi dictator's DNA.
Gen. Tommy Franks, the U.S. commander in Iraq, said Sunday the genetic material would be checked against DNA taken from bodies found in the aftermath of coalition missile and bomb strikes.
"The appropriate people with the appropriate forensics are doing checks you would find appropriate in each of the places where we think we may have killed regime leadership," Franks told CNN.
He acknowledged a positive match might be hard to get, particularly if remains have been removed.
"But what you should know, we have the forensics capability to chase these things down, and we'll chase them down, every one of them, all the way," he said.
Franks said coalition forces also have DNA from other top Iraqi leaders. He did not explain how the DNA was obtained. It can be culled from a wide range of sources, including licked envelopes.
Asked on ABC This Week whether he believed Saddam was still alive, Franks said he wasn't sure.
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Apple buy could spit in the face of the RIAA
Rumour has it, as we reported yesterday, that Apple is considering buyinging the Universal Music Group for approximately $6 billion in a bid to strengthen the company's role as a digital media company. The most intriguing part of a potential deal, however, is how it could affect ongoing questions of DRM and the continuing war between the MPIAA/RIAA and their consumers.
Apple, unlike Microsoft, has been considerably quieter about integrating digital rights management or draconian spyware/licensing schemes into their operating system, and while plans to do so may be on the drawing board they've not attracted near the attention or publicised such moves nearly to the same extent. Some would argue that Apple has shown little interest in even treading such a path, especially given the company's history of providing MP3-friendly devices like the iPod or its long-running inclusion of CD/DVD burners in its systems.
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Iraqi information minister gets too popular
A Web site that pokes fun at Saddam Hussein's minister of information became such a global hit that its operators had to temporarily pull the plug Friday as they scrambled for more powerful computers.
To help pay for the upgrades, the site will sell T-shirts, mugs and barbecue aprons featuring choice quotes from Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, who maintained with a straight face that Iraqi troops were routing the Americans even as U.S. tanks busted through Baghdad.
The site, WeLoveTheIraqiInformationMinister.com, features quotes as well as obviously doctored photos showing al-Sahhaf boasting of the Confederacy's successes during the Civil War and Darth Vader's victories in the "Star Wars" movies.
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Microsoft issues Windows XP fix for notebook throttlers
Unless you watch your notebook PC pretty carefully you might not know that you need the latest fix for Windows XP that Microsoft has posted.
Warp2Search noticed the hotfix Microsoft has just released, which applies to every version of Windows XP.
The symptoms are that the CPU might not be restored to its full unthrottled state with SpeedStep and the like. The problem happens if your machine is hogged with activity when the "power policy" changes.
You only need the patch if you need the patch.
You can find details of the fix at Warp2Search.
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MySQL Makes Push Into the Enterprise
MySQL AB launched its first-ever users' conference with a bang when it released source code for Version 5 of its open-source database at the San Jose, Calif., event on Thursday.
The Uppsala, Sweden, company considers this major release to be its first serious push into the enterprise market, given the database's new features, which include stored procedures, triggers, core SQL-99 features, foreign keys for MyISAM with cascading Delete, cursor support, multimaster replication and online backup, full sub-queries (Match, For all/Any/Some), OLAP functions for data warehousing, and a more scalable thread/connection manager.
MySQL 4.1 was also met with enterprise user enthusiasm when the company certified the code earlier this month, thanks to enhanced transaction capabilities and features that made it easier to port from Oracle databases.
Indeed, Matt Wagner, director of software development, said that the intent behind the new features in MySQL 5-particularly stored procedures and triggers-is portability. The features make it a smooth slide from Oracle Corp. databases or Microsoft Corp. SQL Server databases onto MySQL, easing the path for companies looking to save money by turning to open source, he said.
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New York City bans cell phones during public performances
Cellular telephones won't be ringing in Broadway theaters, movie houses or concert halls -- at least not legally -- as of Sunday as New York City restricts the use of mobile phones to improve the quality of life there.
The new law bans the use of mobile phones in "any indoor theater, library, museum, gallery, motion picture theater, concert hall or building in which theatrical, musical, dance, motion picture, lecture or other similar performances are exhibited."
Passed by the City Council, which overrode a veto by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who said the ban was unenforceable, the law carries a fine of $50 for offenders who are caught and cited.
The legislation was first proposed by theater owners whose patrons complained of cell phones ringing during performances.
The ban, however, includes a large loophole -- city council members ruled their own chambers exempt, despite the often raucous, public performances that take place there.
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